Status Updates From Can't Take My Eyes Off You ...

I forget if I copied something like from a prior author bio of hers: Kait is a Mississippi native, who often swears like a sailor, calls everyone sugar, honey, or darlin', and can wield a bless your heart like a saber or a Snuggie, depending on requirements.

😅

From bonus scene:

They didn’t need more. They didn’t need grand declarations or sweeping gestures. They’d already chosen each other in the hardest moments.

SPOILER!!!

“Well, I did always want a horse growing up.”

“The horse goes with the ring and everything else. You gotta marry me to get her.”

SPOILER?!

See, the horses are just a part of that whole settling down, thing. I wanted land and a house of my own. Stuff Matt Dillon never really had.

Stepping away from your Marshal roots?

Well, I reckon I’m smarter than Matt Dillon.

Yeah? How’s that?

If he’d had an ounce of good sense, he’d have asked Miss Kitty to marry him and settle down. I’ve got more than an ounce of good sense.

The mare bobbed her head and practically batted those long lashes. Miranda laughed.

“Do you like her?” Ethan asked.

“I don’t know squat about conformation or whatever, but she’s got sass.”

“As all good women should,” Chester agreed.

“I’m giving her a raise and the biggest cupcake ever.”

“I’m pretty sure that’s what they call a cake.”

He’s dead.

Yeah. He is. And I’m not, thanks to you. That’s the important part.

“He’s coming for you and hell’s coming with him.” Miranda had no doubt of it.

He gaped. “Are you seriously quoting Tombstone at me right now?”

Look, I know I’ve always given you shit for choosing law enforcement over music. But it was the right choice for you. You’re a great cop. Your record speaks to that. You’re going to find Miranda, and you’re gonna bring her home.

You were supposed to be playing the Rocky theme while you delivered that speech.

It was totally playing in my head.

Duct tape was universal, utilitarian, and damned near impossible to tear.

(Eh. Maybe I’ve only dealt w/knockoffs … but if you start at an edge with your teeth or fingernails, you can tear duct tape.)

It takes guts to believe in people. To put yourself out there knowing you might not get anything back. You do that every day because you don’t know any other way to be. I don’t have that kind of courage. I’ve let my experiences define me. I’ve let them limit me. And I tried to use them to limit you.

You’re awfully good with a bow for just that.

Tell me something, Chief. Do you shoot something other than your service weapon? Hunting rifles? Shotguns?

Yes.

And do you not find that your marksmanship translates to some extent across weapons?

Are you saying you’ve got some other kind of marksmanship experience?

Two-time finalist in the state riflery championship in high school.

“I bought this practice from Dr. Klein, so there are paper records going back a ways. We’re required to keep them for seven years from last service. When I bought the practice, I invested in an electronic data management system because most insurance requires electronic filing now.”

we found a can of linseed oil tipped over on a shelf. At a guess, the top wasn’t adequately sealed, and it set up a slow drip on the stuff underneath and eventually spontaneously combusted. Linseed oil is highly flammable and gets hotter as it evaporates. It’s a really common cause of fires.

“What beef has Harley got with Miranda?”

“None that I know about.”

(Was it that Miranda finally gave Rene the gumption to press charges against Harley? Or Harley sees it that way, even if it was really Ethan’s ultimatum (if you don’t press charges, there’s no documented extenuating circumstances for Johnny’s shooting of Corbett) that convinced Rene?)

Ethan rose, an incongruous picture with the towel riding low on his hips and a gun in his hand. Suds still clung to his shoulders.

her hands still on the placard of the shirt.

(Placket of the shirt?)

I don’t want to see you hurt. But my need for you to be safe doesn’t trump your need to risk yourself for the safety of others. I wouldn’t expect you to change that. It’s part of who you are, and I like the man you are.

“You have dress boots?”

Feigning a wounded expression, he laid a hand over his heart. “Darlin’, I’m from West Texas.”

“Oh, quid pro quo. The man has brains.”

“You may as well give up now. She always gets her way.”

“Nicest steamroller you’ll ever meet,” Miranda added.

“Resistance is futile,” Aunt Sandy agreed. “Why do you think we made her the city planner?”

Nobody’s gonna risk your wrath with a pre-dawn wakeup call.” Mitch shifted his attention to Ethan. “This one is liable to shoot morning people on sight and drink coffee while sitting on their cooling corpses.”

I know why you did it. He didn’t see them as human, as people. you couldn’t see them as anything else. I understand where he was coming from, recognizing those people weren’t going to change. Doesn’t mean I agree with his approach. Your idealism doesn’t make you stupid or foolish, Miranda. It makes you amazing doctor. your patients probably had better outcomes because you gave a damn.”

I may have a small family, but because I grew up on a ranch, I had a whole big honorary family who felt it was their duty to look out for me. I don’t overwhelm easy.

“I can assure you I won’t let anybody lay a hand on her.”

“Except you,” Mitch observed.

“That’s a whole other thing and none of your business.”

“Is this the part where you threaten to break me in half if I hurt her?”

Mitch’s look was part amusement, part pity. “Nope. My sister’s got claws, and she fights dirty. You hurt her, she’ll take care of you herself. I’ll just be there to help hide the body.”

Dried mud caked them both, but it was red clay, not the dense grayish brown mud he’d heard locals refer to as gray gumbo.